St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-31
DAKOTA'S GREATNESS.
An Enthusiastic Resident Tells the West
Virginia People About 1t.
THE BIG PRAIRIE FARMS.
Something Of Interest About Agriculture
and Stock Raising---John Nickel
vey's Views on Division.
From the Wheeling Cw. va) Register.

a citizen of Wheeling, but who now
writes Dakota opposite his name on
the hotel register, arrived in the city
Saturday morning from st. Paul, and is
at the Stamm house. Mr.. McKelvey
will remain in the city and vicinity
week or two, visiting relatives and
friends. He is well acquainted through
out Minnesota, Montana and Dakota,
being one of the pioneers of the Red
river valley, and is closely identified
with the early growth ana history of
Grand Forks, now city of 1000 inhab-
itants, with water works, gas, electric
lights, etc.
A representative of the Register
called on Mr.. McKelvey to obtain some
information based upon his experience
and information. and began the CONVEX
satiOn by asking:
''What do you think of Dakota?"
81 like it," was the reply. sit has a
good, healthful climate, dry bracing at
mOsphere and wonderful fertile soil,
that produces the only No. hard wheat
and the finest potatoes you ever saw. If
/ told you how large have seen vege-
tables of different kinds you wouldn't
believe me. Not long ago the st. Paul
GLOBE sent direct to farmers and stock
men to obtain their views and expert
ence in writing, and their letters are
published in the GLOBES Dakota edi-
ton on Saturdays. Some of these let
tiers are published III pamphlet form
and will be sent free to anybody. They
contain valuable information and are
reliable. l am personally acquainted
with some of the writers, and know
the statements they contain to be true"
'.How are the farmers of Dakota COM
ing on?"
"Splendidly. The crops this year
were the largest ever known. Some
wheat farms, in cultivation eight years.
yielded as high as thirty and thirty-ive
bushels to the acre. The owners of the
land were themselves surprised at the
yield. The elevator capacity of the
railroads is taxed to the utmost, but is
insufficient to accommodate the grain
seeking market. At one station
KemptOn, near LaramOre, wheat has
been piled up on the open ground await
ing shipment. Of course, the owners
ran big risk from the exposure, but
they got along all right without loss"
This is the Red river valley you are
speaking 0f?''
Eyes, sir; and a finer agricultural
country does not exist. The valley eX-
tends north and south from the forty
sixth parallel to the boundary line, a
distance of about 125 miles, and has an
average width of about forty miles. 1t
is strictly wheat-prOducing country.
The land lies level or slightly rolling.
When the country was first settled up
the farmers had strong preference for
the highest land, imagining that it was
the best for wheat growing, and that the
other was of little value, but the land at
first rejected is now esteemed the best
of the whole by such great wheat
growers as Oliver Dalrymple."
SIS Dalrymple as extensive wheat
grower as the newspaper correspondents
represent"
Eyes, indeed. And it is all from
small beginning. He is now one of the
wealthiest men in the entire Northwest.
He made his beginning in the summer
of 1877. At that time the Red river val
ley was supposed to be unfit for any
thing but grass, this being based upon
the reports of such men as HaZen. The
Northern Pacific railroad struggled to
induce settlers to go there, but their eff
forts were not very successful. Land
Commissioner Powers had great faith in
the country. however, and went East to
over the matter. The bonds of the COM
pany were at that time only worth 10
cents on the dollar, and a plan was
formed whereby the bonds were taken
at par for lands, at their estimated value
of So to IS per acre. This
enabled purchasers to get the
land at about 60 to so cents per acre,
and good deal of it was exchanged on
that basis. Among the large bOndhOld-
ers taking land in this manner were
Gems. Cass and Charey, and they put
Dalrymple on a piece of about 10000
acres about twelve miles beyond Fargo,
at place now called CaStletOn. Dali
rymple at once put about 200 teams to
work breaking up the prairie, and after
allowing it to lie through the season and
rot, it was cultivated and sowed with
wheat. The next year 5000 acres more
were broken, and so on until the whole
10000 acres were one gigantic wheat
field. Dalrymple was to have share in
the land for his work, and he now owns
5000 acres of this tract.
Then the Grandin brothers, of Tide
out, Pa, got hold of about forty thou
sand acres and turned it over to Dali
rymple OH the same terms. This tract
lies about forty miles north of Fargo.
He was equally successful in this mat
ter, and is now working twenty thou
sand acres of it himself. 1t is all in
wheat, and he employs hundreds of men
and horses in its management, besides
having fortune in agricultural ma
chinery."
'.What is the character of the land
outside of Red river valley?"
sit is more broken, but is more pro-
ductiye as far west as Devils lake.
a ri iS
for stock. This is about $50 miles west
of the Red river. The country is rather
broken there, and there are many sand
hills, with timber along the streams,
and the finest summer grazing ever seen.
1t beats Montana and Wyoming for cat
tie, and the cattlemen from these terri
tories say they never saw such pasturage;
but the summer grass doesn't cure well
for winter. Nature has made provision
for this, however, by placing wide bot
toms along the river, which are oyerfiown
every spring. and after the water sub
sides fine grass springs up, which cuts
four or five tons of hay to the acre. We
feed this for winter, beginning about
Nov. 10 and running along until the
middle of March. Last winter had $50
range until the middle of January, and
were then brought in for winter feed
ing, while | know of men who left their
stock out all winter. This l do not APP
prove of, however"
''What advantages does Dakota offer
to the man with small means?'
For such men, DESTROYS of cattle
raising, | knew of no place equal to Da-
kota. The land costs but little, and the
business is safe and sure. Good land
can be had for from S. to S25 per acre.
and there yet about 20,000,0O0 acres of
desirable government land which can
be had for nothing"
''How about the division of the terri
tory?"
''The people who favor that are
mainly in the southern part of the ter
ritOrY. For myself. / favor the terri